With the high price of animal feed, growing maggots is beginning to make sense. Maggots come from flies. When flies lay eggs, the eggs pass through several stages before they turn into flies. One of the stages is the maggot stage.
You can use the maggot to feed fish, chickens and other animals. I’m targeting fish and chickens but I’ll be starting with chickens.
Growing The Maggots
To grow maggot, you need cheap inputs like manure, kitchen waste and sawdust or rice hull. I mixed rice hull with manure (my layers’ droppings) in a bowl (let’s call this growing bowl) and added just enough water to make it moist but not wet. I then mix thoroughly and placed some kitchen waste on this mixture to attract a lot of flies. You can use soup, fruits or anything that will attract a lot of flies. I used my dog’s leftover garri balls mixed with soup.
Note: The growing bowl you used should have holes in the bottom so that excess water can go out. These holes must be small so that some maggots won’t escape.
After the flies have finished laying their eggs. cover the bowl with something and place under a shaded area. Protect it from ants, lizards, chickens etc. I used chicken wire to cover them and finally cover with zinc. The chicken wire will prevent lizards and the zinc will stop chickens. I placed the growing bowls on a raised platform. The little kerosene I sprayed on the platform will stop ants. In few hours time you’ll see some small maggots. Leave them for 5 days before you harvest.
Harvesting
Spread net over a bowl (harvesting bowl).
Place the maggot-filled substrate on the net. Spread it thinly so that they can’t hide under. Fear of light will make them to force themselves through the tiny holes in the net.
Mine were big and some could not pass through the net. This was because I harvested when they were 8 days old. This makes harvesting very tedious because I have to pick many by hand. Next time I’ll harvest when they are smaller, say 5 days old. Note that the older the maggots, the less nutrient they’ll contain – and the less digestible they’ll become. Young maggots, though smaller, are more nutritious and more digestible. To prevent the maggots from climbing the walls of the harvesting bowl, dust it with ash or rice hull dust. I used rice hull dust.
Maggots like hiding away from light, so it will be good if you place something in the harvesting bowl where they can hide under. I used rice hull but later regretted it because I later have to separate the maggots from it. Next time I’ll be using a plastic cover, making provision for access roads they’ll use to crawl under the plastic.
If you leave them beyond 10 days, they’ll turn into flies and fly away.
Harvest was bountiful. It makes sense to do this large scale.
To process, I poured very hot water on them. This will kill every germs in it and makes it more digestible. I left if in the hot water for a while before draining.
I’m looking forward to do this in a larger scale. Some people travel all the way to Songhai farm, Benin Republic to learn this among other things. Now I’ve tried it and saw the harvest, I strongly believed it will be profitable. Fly is free and everywhere.
Just thinking – In a war situation, isn’t this a very good source of super cheap protein?
@henlus, thanks for dis priceless and resourceful info. Pls how do u know when d flies ve finished laying their eggs as u rightly pointed out in ur write up. Thanks
(02-13-2016, 11:49 PM)Ikowa5 Wrote: @henlus, thanks for dis priceless and resourceful info. Pls how do u know when d flies ve finished laying their eggs as u rightly pointed out in ur write up. Thanks
Sorry for very late reply. Just leave it for 1 day
This is eye-opening. I’ve been throwing away kitchen waste for years, not knowing it could be converted into animal protein. Nature really wastes nothing.
The nutrient profile of young maggots is almost the same as fishmeal, except for calcium. That means farmers can cut down feed cost without compromising growth.
This is really detailed, thanks for sharing. I like the idea of using kitchen waste + manure, since both are free inputs. Do you notice any smell problems? That’s my biggest worry with maggot farming.
This is a gold mine if scaled up. Imagine replacing 50% of chicken feed with homegrown maggots. Feed is 70% of production cost. This can turn losses into profit.
Good job! You’re right about harvesting early. I also noticed that 4–5 days old maggots are softer and my chickens eat them faster. Older ones turn blackish and are harder to digest.
I tried something like this last year but ants ruined everything. I like your idea of using kerosene on the platform legs. I will try again with that method.
This is actually how black soldier fly (BSF) farmers do it too. Their larvae are even more nutritious than housefly maggots, and BSF doesn’t cause disease like houseflies. You might want to try BSF if you can get the starter colony.
This reminds me of black soldier fly farming. They even eat faster and cleaner than houseflies. If you can get BSF eggs, your production will be on another level.
The beauty of this system is that you don’t need electricity. Just buckets, waste, and flies. That’s why rural farmers can easily adopt it. What are we waiting for!
(09-06-2025, 09:08 PM)GreenVet Wrote: This looks like a good side hustle for youths. Even if you don’t have animals, you can raise maggots and sell to farmers.
Exactly. Some people are already doing it if you check facebook. But they raise black soldier fly larvae because it is safer and better nutritionally.
(09-09-2025, 11:42 AM)SheFarm Wrote: I wonder if maggots can replace soya beans in poultry feed completely, or if it should just be used as a supplement.
It depends. Lets base on black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) because it is better than fly larvae. BSF larvae are very rich in protein (35–45% dry matter) and fat (25–35%). But can it replace soybean meal completely? It depends onq: 1. Protein Balance
Soybean meal has an excellent amino acid profile, especially lysine.
BSFL protein is high, but the methionine and lysine levels may not perfectly balance poultry requirements.
If used alone, deficiencies in some amino acids could reduce growth or egg production. 2. Energy & Fat Content
BSFL have higher fat content than soybean meal, which can affect feed formulation.
Too much fat may reduce feed intake or cause imbalances if not adjusted properly. 3. Research Findings
Studies show BSFL can replace 25–50% of soybean meal in broiler or layer diets without negative effects.
Some trials even report up to 100% replacement in broilers when the diet is carefully balanced with synthetic amino acids and other ingredients.
However, complete replacement is not yet widely adopted in practice, mainly because of nutritional balancing and cost/availability issues. 4. Best Practice Right Now
? Maggots are best used as a supplement, replacing 20–50% of soybean meal in poultry diets.
? For full replacement, you’ll need a nutritionist to balance the feed with amino acids (like lysine, methionine) and energy sources.
(09-09-2025, 11:12 AM)John@ Wrote: Do you think it’s better to use housefly maggots or black soldier fly larvae? I’ve read BSF has more protein and less chitin.
(09-09-2025, 10:27 AM)Kiwi Wrote: I’m curious: do the maggots smell bad after you pour hot water on them? Thinking of ways to process without disturbing the household.
The manure and food waste may smell, but not the maggots
